Took a seat but not a whole one (3)
I believe the answer is:
sat
'took a seat' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sat that I've seen before include "Was sitting" , "twenty-four hours" , "Was couch potato" , "Took a chair" , "Perched" .)